For the latest edition of GOLF magazine’s 2022 ClubTest, we relied on a two-pronged approach to deliver valuable insights into the new crop of wedges so that you can make better informed purchasing decisions. A bevy of qualified testers were on hand to provide feedback and performance thoughts on gear from manufacturers big and small. You can read all about this year’s ClubTest testing process here.
Below you will find our full reviews and test results of 20 new wedges from the top manufacturers in the game. See something you like? Click through and buy your new wedge today.
Wedge reviews by brand: Callaway | Cleveland | Edel | Honma | Miura | Ping | PXG | TaylorMade | Titleist | Tour Edge | Wilson
More ClubTest 2022 reviews: Drivers | Irons | Fairway Woods | Hybrids | Putters
Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf.
CLUBTEST WEDGE REVIEWS
Callaway Jaws Full Toe
We tested: 54-60°, 64°; C-grind
Our take: Want to hit that coveted low-spinner? The Jaws Full Face wedge was among the top performers in spin for our testers, who raved about the wedge’s ability to hit low shots that spin a lot. Our testers also enjoyed the confidence-inspiring look at address and versatility of shots the wedges could create.
Callaway Jaws Full Toe wedges
The details: Callaway threw the kitchen sink of spin technologies into the Jaws Full Face wedges. The faces of the wedges have a raw finish, and they have groove-in-groove technology to create extra friction at impact. They also have a high-toed shape to help drive trajectory lower, and the Variable Weight Port System behind the face helps to center weight behind the sweetspot for a solid feel. Each wedge comes with a versatile C-grind to help golfers hit a variety of shots.
Callaway Jaws MD5
We tested: 46-60°, 64°; Grinds: C, T, W (low bounce) and S, X, W (high bounce)
Our take: Look inside the staff bag of most Callaway staffers on the PGA Tour, and you’ll probably find these wedges. For good reason, too. The Jaws MD5 wedges have a traditional tour shape, versatile grinds, and grooves made to maximize spin around the greens.
Callaway Jaws MD5 wedges
The details: Designed by wedge master Roger Cleveland, the Jaws MD5 wedges have the shape tour players ask for, with tech to help produce the performance they desire. They have sharp Jaws grooves on the face, and Groove-in-Groove technology to inflict added friction for more spin. The wedges are made from 8620 carbon steel, and they come in a variety of grinds, so a full fitting is crucial to find the right match.
Callaway Mack Daddy CB
We tested: 46-60°, Full and W-Grind
Our take: If you find it difficult to strike the ball cleanly when using a wedge, or you struggle to hit shots high and soft, these wedges may be your answer. Our higher-handicap testers found the Mack Daddy CB to be one of the easiest wedges to hit high into the air from a variety of lies, and helped immensely with turf interaction.
Callaway Mack Daddy CB wedges
The details: Thanks to a wide sole and larger head shape, the Mack Daddy CB wedges are some of the most forgiving wedge options on the market. They have a cavity-back design that adds stability on off-center hits, they come in two friendly sole options, and they have sharp Jaws grooves on the face to impart spin. Beginning golfers, or anyone struggling with their short game, should give these a try.
Callaway PM Grind 19
We tested: 54-60°, 64°
Our take: Yes, the “PM” stand for Phil Mickelson, but you don’t have to be a left-handed, short-game genius to use these wedges. Our testers found them equally useful when hitting flop shots, low-spinners and fuller shots from the fairway.
Callaway PM Grind 19 wedges
The details: Co-designed by Phil Mickelson and Roger Cleveland, the Callaway PM-Grind wedges have a unique high-toe shape and full-face grooves that allow a confidence-inspiring look from all lies. Even if you miss out on the toe your golf ball will still contact the grooves. There’s also added offset and a high center of gravity to help golfers hit low, driving shots, plus there’s a C-grind sole for versatility from various lies.
Cleveland RTX ZipCore
We tested: 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°, 62°
Our take: The RTX wedges have long been a popular wedge among our staff and club testers, so when we heard Cleveland was going to retool an already-good thing, we were eager with anticipation to see what the company came up with. Enter the RTX ZipCore, the best RTX wedge we’ve tried. It has a balanced feel, a consistent trajectory and a soft feel—the three must haves in a solid and trusty wedge.
Cleveland RTX ZipCore wedges
The details: The low-density ZipCore material shifts the CG to a more optimized location while at the same time raising the MOI, adding spin and improving consistency across more surface are of the clubface. Also comes with Utilizip grooves for added spin and a heat treatment designed to improve durability. Comes in three finishes (Tour Rack, Black Satin and Satin.)
Cleveland CBX Full-Face
We tested: 56°, 58°, 60°, 64°
Our take: Who said high-lofted wedges can’t be forgiving? The CBX Full-Face is exceptionally forgiving thanks to a full-face of grooves, making it easier to generate spin on open-faced shots. Its versatility makes it fun to use but lest we not forget, it’s also a great wedge for preventing fat/chunked shots. We found it a challenge to chunk it unless we deliberately took a ridiculously steep swing.
Cleveland CBX Full-Face wedges
The details: The high-toe profile/extended toe portion makes it a cinch to hit open faced shots with added spin. Which speaking of spin, the Rotex and Laser Milling and Tour Zip Grooves cover the entire face as well for even more gripping power and maximum versatility. Underneath is a half-cavity near the heel and a solid muscle back on the toe to move the sweetspot where it’s most needed. The low C-shaped sole is also optimized for open-faced shots.
Cleveland CBX ZipCore
We tested: 44°, 46°, 48°, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
Our take: A great wedge is only as great as you are, right? So might as well choose one that makes you better and prevents fat/thin/skulled and chunked shots. Better yet, the CBX ZipCore hides the technology on the inside of what looks like a traditional wedge. Lest you not be fooled, though. This wedge feels and performs like no other, offering extra forgiveness in a compact shape that hides all its tech at address.
Cleveland CBX ZipCore wedges
The details: A high MOI is achieved via a ZipCore material in the hosel for a precisely placed CG and a higher MOI. Additional technology includes a Hollow Cavity design with weight in the toe for a more balanced feel and added forgiveness across the clubface. Lastly a Gelback TPU insert softens vibrations for a better feel. Comes in three different wedge grinds for a custom fit.
Edel SMS Wedge
We tested: Various lofts
Our take: Of the wedges that took part in GOLF’s player testing, Edel’s SMS was one of the most requested models. Testers gave high marks to the consistent turf interaction and adjustable weight technology in the head. “This wedge has more technology than my driver,” commented one GOLF tester. “I was skeptical at first, but once I moved the weights around, I started to see a tighter circle on full swing shots. The tech is for real.” Having the ability to zero-in on the flag from inside 130 yards is a game-changing benefit for any handicap.
Edel SMS wedges
The details: Edel has found that weight, as well as shape, play a vital in how a wedge performs for particular golfers. While Edel’s wedges have four different grind options in the lineup that suit different attack angles, the company is taking fitting and personalization to the next level.
The SMS (Swing Matching System) wedges are designed with three interchangeable weight ports in their back cavities to help match the wedge to your swing and feel. According to Edel, the weight-adjustable system also has a significant impact on spin and accuracy.
By placing weights of different measurements into the ports, the overall weighting gets shifted in one direction or the other. Edel’s stock wedges come with two 2-gram titanium weights, and one 8-gram tungsten weight (4-, 6- and 10-gram weights are also available). The heaviest weight can either go into the heel, center, or toe location, and the two lighter weights fill out the remaining slots.
Through Edel’s player testing, the company found that putting the heaviest weight in different locations can yield measurable results. Edel’s testing results show that spin increased, on average, by 10.4 percent when the weight was in its “highest spinning location” for each golfer, compared to the “lowest spinning location.” Additionally, the company reports that 80 percent of testers found their best spin numbers from having the heaviest weight in a location other than center.
Edel also found that when golfers have their preferred weight location dialed in, they gained 44 percent more accuracy in terms of distance and offline dispersion.
Honma T//World W21
We tested: 48-60°; I-Sole, C-Sole, S-Sole
Our take: The wedge doesn’t swing itself, but several testers found the T//World W21 wedge effortlessly glided through the turf with ease on a variety of shots. “It’s a very traditional setup by looks, but the head is much heavier,” noted a tester. “For me, that helps the club glide through the grass.” Possessing a wedge that doesn’t dig into the turf and produces consistent contact is a dream combination that Honma’s latest wedge offering seems to have in spades.
Honma T//World W21 Wedge
The details: Honma’s T//World W21 wedge features an overlayed milling pattern on the face that adds some additional bite around the green. A visible CNC-milled aluminum module, positioned in the low toe, shifts the center of gravity higher in the head for a controlled flight. Available in three sole options, the I-Sole offers slight trailing edge relief, while the C-Sole has more aggressive relief in the heel and toe trailing edge. The four-way relief and wide sole found on the S-Sole is ideal for different sand and turf conditions.
Miura K-Grind 2.0
We tested: 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
Our take: The “knuckles” on the K-Grind 2.0 wedges are far from traditional, but don’t get thrown off, these wedges still have a classic forged feel and tour shaping at address. The unique soles help with forgiveness through the turf, too.
Miura K-Grind 2.0 wedges
The details: Miura’s K-Grind 2.0 wedges are forged in Himeji, Japan, like the rest of Miura’s forged products, but these wedges are certainly unique. The knuckle-like design in the sole is designed to reduce twisting at impact, helping versatility from various lies. Also, the faces are milled to ensure the precision of grooves and to create surface texture that increases spin rates.
Miura Tour
We tested: 4°8, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
Our take: This is how a tour-style wedge is expected to look, feel and perform. The back cavities look super clean, have a classic forged feel and have all the versatility and spin that better players search for.
Miura Tour Wedge
The details: Miura’s Tour wedges are forged from S20C soft carbon steel, and the faces are CNC milled for precision and spin control. While the grind on the standard wedge should be suitable for most golfers, there’s also a high bounce version for golfers who desire a wider sole to help with playability and forgiveness.
Ping Glide 4.0
We tested: 46°, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
Our take: “What’s in a name?” asked Shakespeare’s Juliet; in the case of Ping’s Glide 4.0 wedge, the answer is a resounding, “Truth!” As one tester put it, echoing several others, “Living up to its name, this wedge glided through the turf—and it spun a lot.” Can the GlideSpin 1.0 be far behind? “But soft, what light flop shot through yonder fringe breaks?”
Ping Glide 4.0 wedge
The details: On the glide front, multiple grind options yield improved turf interaction when appropriately paired to course conditions. On the spin side, the new “Emery face blast” combined with precision-milled face and grooves increases texture on the hitting surface. This results in higher friction and more club-ball interaction, which in turn results in more spin and lower launch. The sidewalls on the Glide’s grooves differ based on the loft—50- and 52-degree models are designed to optimize performance on full shots, while 54-degree and up models emphasize spin and precision on partial-swing, short-game finesse shots.
PXG Sugar Daddy
We tested: 50˚, 52˚, 54˚, 56˚, 58˚, 60˚
Our take: The Sugar Daddy offers plenty of versatility, and and it’s PXG’s most engineered wedge yet. Testers were quick to point out how nice the premium-priced wedge looked sitting on the ground, and the number of different shots they could execute around the greens with it.
PXG 0311 Sugar Daddy wedges
The details: This wedge is triple forged and CNC milled, using tungsten and titanium weights to manipulate the CG so it’s in the perfect spot to play everything from a flop to a pitch. The Sugar Daddy also comes in two sole options — the 09 fofr versatility in all conditions and the 07, which is narrower and meant for open-faced shots off tight lies.
PXG 0311 Forged
We tested: 50˚, 52˚, 54˚, 56˚, 58˚, 60˚
Our take: The best wedges are those that disguise the technology in a simple, yet versatile, design — and the PXG 0311 fits that billing. It’s easy to use on a variety of shots, plus it has forgiveness and feel to boot. “These wedges are very well-balanced, are controllable and feel great,” said one tester. “I’d definitely put these in play.”
PXG 0311 Forged wedges
The details: The 0311 wedges are forged from soft carbon steel and are equipped with PXG’s proprietary weighting system that combines tungsten and titanium weights for an elevated MOI, high toe weighting that moves the CG up the face for better control on open-faced shots, and a tapered sole designed to make it more playable from a variety of lies.
TaylorMade Milled Grind 3
We tested: 46-60° (Low, Standard, High Bounce, Tiger Woods Grind)
Our take: Simpler is better in certain situations. Plenty of testers gave MG3 high marks for its minimalistic look and ability to grab the ball on shots from 35 yards. “The ball is dropping and stopping for me on command,” said a GOLF tester. “I like the satin finish on the head, too. For a day like today where the sun is noticeable, I don’t have to worry about glare being an issue. That’s necessary in Arizona.”
TaylorMade Milled Grind 3 wedges
The details: The micro-ribs are just one of a few smart wrinkles TaylorMade added to its face design. Compared to its predecessor, MG3 boasts a scratch finish on the toe area that’s designed to reduce glare at address, as well as a first groove that was lowered slightly — a request that came directly from Tommy Fleetwood — to help with spin and launch consistency.
Subtle changes were also made to the overall head shape (more compact), hosel length (lowered up to 10mm in the lower lofts), offset and toe height to ensure, say, the 46-degree — a new loft addition for 2021 — blends seamlessly with the 9-iron for golfers who opt for an MG3 pitching wedge over one from their iron set.
The overall look and feel of the 8620 carbon steel wedge head was scaled back as well to give it a clean, minimalistic look. And while it might not be as noticeable as in years past, the thick-thin mass design was adjusted for each loft (as high as 6.5mm down to 5.5mm on the lower lofts) to pair the correct amount of spin with ideal launch characteristics.
Multiple bounce options are available, along with a Tiger Woods grind that features a raw face and shaping built for one of the best players of all-time.
Titleist Vokey SM9
We tested: Various lofts
Our take: It’s hard enough to convince a nation of golfers to abandon their old gear in favor of the latest-and-greatest in short-game tech. But turning the opinion of a notoriously fickle pro like Jordan Spieth? A waste of time … unless you’re the SM9. The latest innovation from wedge legend Bob Vokey immediately entered Spieth’s bag upon its January 2022 launch — a sign of the performance improvements from the new line, which focused heavily on improving shot versatility and control. “It feels soft, it spins a lot,” raved one member of GOLF’s ClubTest. “It feels better than any Vokey I’ve tried in years.” If the early portion of ’22 is any indication, it would seem Spieth agrees.
Titleist Vokey SM9 wedges
The details: Sometimes the toughest changes are the subtlest ones, like in the SM9, where Titleist engineers added weight to the back toe to raise the club’s overall CG. In moving the CG further in front of the clubface, the SM9 produces shots with lower trajectory and greater spin, giving players more control. Titleist also overhauled its groove cutting process, tightening the spin tolerance to ensure sharper grooves and higher overall spin rates.
Tour Edge Hot Launch Super Spin
We tested: 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
Our take: One thing for sure when it comes to wedges — nobody wants less spin. Everyone wants more of it, and the Super Spin’s CNC-milled grooves Edge deliver plenty of greenside spin for added control. Its clean aesthetic is pleasing to the eye and the sole design is specifically designed to reduce digging to make it easier to extricate the ball from the sand and from tough rough.
Tour Edge Hot Launch Super Spin wedges
The details: Comes with added toe weight to expand the sweet spot and to maximize stability for greater consistency and an improved feel. The CNC-milled grooves are at the maximum depth allowed by the USGA and produce ample spin for shots that bite. Lastly, the beveled leading edge/cambered sole design is particularly helpful for golfers with steep swings, especially when it comes to getting out of tough lies and thick sand.
Tour Edge Hot Launch E522
We tested: 52°, 56°, 60°
Our take: Wedges tend to fall in two categories: blade-style wedges that are built for shotmaking versatility and thicker, cavity-back wedges that promise extra forgiveness. The E522 is something of an in-betweener wedge — it’s definitely not a cavity-back, but still has added forgiveness thanks mostly to a super-wide sole that makes fat shots a thing of the past. Furthermore, these wedges have an anti-slice bias, which is a unique feature among the crop of wedges we’ve seen this year.
Tour Edge Hot Launch E522 wedges
The details: Comes with a Houdini Sole that lessens turf interaction and moves weight deep and low for a higher launch. The Super-Wide sole design lessens both fat and thin shots, and the deep undercut cavity further lowers the CG for added forgiveness. Lastly, the enlarged clubface of the E522 comes with a full-face of grooves at the maximum depth allowed by the USGA for superior spin and control.
Wilson Staff Model Forged
We tested: 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°
Our take: If you’re in the market for tour-level wedges, it’d be irresponsible to pass over the Wilson Staff Model Forged wedges. For our testers, these wedges checked every box, from looks and feel to versatility and spin control. “I honestly probably wouldn’t have tested a Wilson, but I am pleasantly surprised,” said one tester. “These are a serious contender.”
Wilson Staff Model Forged wedges
The details: Designed with feedback from Tour players, the Staff Model wedges have traditional shapes, precision-milled faces, and they’re forged from 8620 soft carbon steel. The faces also have high-density patterns on the surface to maximize spin on shots hit across the face. A muscle pad on the high-toe portion of the back cavity helps raise the center of gravity to lower flight and gain extra control.
Wilson Staff Model HT
We tested: 56°, 60°
Our take: High-lofted wedges are rarely used with a completely square face. Golfers want a wedge the can handle a variety of shots with varying levels of an open face. Wilson’s Staff Model HT wedges proved to our testers that they offer versatility in shot making, and provide spin control from various lies.
Wilson Staff Model HT wedges
The details: Wilson’s Staff Model HT wedges have a high-toe design and grooves that extend out onto the toe to provide confidence that no matter where you contact the ball on the face, you’ll be able to create ample spin. Made from 431 stainless steel, the wedges also have a rounded, wide sole that makes opening the face more playable. For greater spin, the grooves are machine-engraved, and there’s a high-density pattern on the face that increases friction.
